What a year it has been! Everything change that we have made and challenges we had to overcome were all worth it as soon as those numbers were raised. This year's main event took place on February 24 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and it was non stop dancing and fun.
The first three hours were themed COLORS, which is when every team and participant is assigned a color. Each team also has a Rady’s kiddo representing them as well. We started the day with a red carpet introduction for each kiddo representing the team. They got to share a little about themselves and show the big kids how to have a good time. Each theme change there was also a local entertainment act that performed, this first group was the Catalyst Dance Team. The team got to share a little about their culture and hype up the room.
Second theme of the day was, Holidays from 1pm to 4pm This theme was extra special because it was selected by our very own Rady Rockstar Kellan. At the top of this theme change we held our annual Madi Taylor Vigil. Madi Taylor was a patient at Rady Children’s Hospital that sadly lost her life after fighting cancer three times. During this vigil we have her parents share her story and a family friend sings an original song that he performed at her celebration of life. Madi Taylor will forever be remembered and in every Dance Marathon participants heart. During this theme we also got the privilege to watch all the kiddos participate in a talent show. There were amazing acts from singing, to dancing, to hula hooping; every kid poured their heart out on that stage. We also enjoyed a beautiful set from SDSU Sirens of State and began our new Dancing with the Stars act.
In the third theme of the day, Decades, we celebrated Dance Marathon being ten years old. We also continued the Dance with the Stars segment. The DWTS segment was five pairs of a current board member and an alumni, who performed a choreographed dance. This segment was a big hit and really got the crowd pumped. There was also a special performance by the SDSU police where they showed the crowd their moves.
The last 3 hours of the day were all about showing you Dance Marathon pride. Throughout the whole event we were sharing the DM movement and hopefully encouraging the next generation to join. Every couple hours we got the chance to hear a family’s story and what their experiences were at Rady Children’s Hospital. Before we got to reveal we heard from Kellan and his parents, who told us his whole journey. Kellan has been to every Main Event and he is not stopping anytime soon.
As the night was coming to a close the energy was still high and everyone was excited to see how much we raised throughout the year. Nothing would have been possible without all our participants and donors. We happily got to raise the number $203,412.10 in front of every attendee and celebrated for the rest of the night.